Calls Needed to Congress About National Healthcare Bill

William A. Estrada, Esq.
Director of Federal Relations

July 21, 2009

Urgent calls are needed to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to oppose H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” Although this bill does not directly impact homeschool freedoms, it would significantly impact parental rights and early childhood education. For more information, read HSLDA’s legislative summary of H.R. 3200.

While this bill is being promoted as a way to reform health care and help Americans, it should be opposed because it would:

Spend billions of dollars to allow the federal government to fund home visitation programs, where government officials would enter homes and monitor children and instruct parents in how to raise their children;

Encourage states to pressure families to enroll their children in these home visitation programs;

Put the federal government in the healthcare business, resulting in loss of competition, loss of patient choice, and loss of patient freedom;

Require all health insurance plans, whether offered by a private company or the government, to include controversial “essential benefits,” which courts or the Secretary of Health and Human Services may determine to include medical procedures which businesses and taxpayers may oppose on philosophical and religious grounds; and

Increase the size and power of the federal government.

Action Requested

Please call your U.S. representative and your two U.S. senators, and ask them to oppose the federal government’s takeover of health care. You need not identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some or all of the following message:

“Please oppose H.R. 3200, the ‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.’ I am opposed to H.R. 3200’s creation of home visitation programs through grants to the states. Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing decisions for their young children. Additionally, H.R. 3200 will expand the federal government’s role, the federal deficit, and will interfere with medical decisions between my doctor and me.”

You can reach the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or you can find the contact information for your U.S. representative and your two U.S. senators by using HSLDA’s Legislative Toolbox. Please also forward this information to as many of your friends as you can and urge them to call their elected officials.

Background

H.R. 3200 is President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform bill. While the United States has one of the best systems of private health care in the world, no one would disagree that reforms are needed. Unfortunately, H.R. 3200 has numerous flaws, and would create far more problems than it would fix. HSLDA is strongly opposed to H.R. 3200’s creation of home visitation programs for families and children, but other aspects of this 1,000-plus page bill are also troubling. HSLDA has written a detailed analysis of this bill, including references to where this bill would create the dangerous programs listed above.